Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 and GA-P55A-UD4P Review

Introduction:

The LGA 1156 socket is nothing new, which is not a bad thing. Why? Because it means that users looking to purchase one of the newer i5's or i7's have a lot more to choose from in terms of other hardware. There will be more coolers, more "Optimized" memory, and, last but not least, more motherboards. With all these choices, you should easily be able to find something to suit your needs and that could mean just about anything. If you're looking for something that can accommodate three videocards, you'll be able to find it. If you're looking for a motherboard that features six DIMM slots, you'll be able to find that as well. There are even some boards that use 2-oz of copper in their PCB! Users looking for higher end products will be pleased to know that motherboard manufacturers have released a multitude of high-end boards. These come with all sorts of features that will keep the board cooler, allow you to overclock faster, or use the Internet without booting into windows. It seems as though every manufacturer has found some way to include something special in their product.

Today I'll be taking a look at two motherboards from Gigabyte. The P55A-UD4P, and it's bigger brother the P55A-UD6. Both of these boards carry Gigabyte's "Ultra Durable 3" branding, so there must be something special about them. How will these boards perform, and what special things is Gigabyte offering? I intend to find out.

Closer Look

As always, let's start with the packaging. Both Gigabyte boards came in very similar boxes. The UD4P used a green theme, while the UD6 used a Blue theme and was slightly bigger. Other than that, the boxes appeared to be pretty much identical. The front featured the motherboards name, and a picture of '333 Onboard Acceleration'. There are also three boxes telling you what the '333 Onboard Acceleration' is: USB 3.0, USB Power 3X, and SATA 3.0. The back of the box provides the user with even more details of the boards.

The sides of the box follow the traditional motherboard box theme. Three sides sport the manufacturers logo, as well as the board's name and some minor specs. The fourth side features some more detailed specifications about the motherboard.

Opening the P55A-UD4P's box reveals the board carefully placed in an anti-static bag. The P55A-UD6, on the other hand, is packaged in another box. Not only that, but it is covered in a plastic clamshell. This allows the user to see the board before removing it from its packaging, and it protects the motherboard at the same time.

The included accessories are what you'd expect from a motherboard. You'll receive four SATA cables, an IDE cable, and a SLI bridge. With the P55A-UD6, you'll also receive some less common accessories. These are an expansion bracket that has two eSATA connectors and one Molex connector. To go with this, you'll receive two eSATA Cables, and a Molex to SATA power adapter.